Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aalst and in Cebu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aalst and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $918 in Cebu.

Aalst $2,067
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Aalst $3,086
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Aalst $4,105
Cebu $1,900

Living in Aalst is roughly 125% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aalst is 53% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.10

$3.09 ₱194

629.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.3

$24.22 ₱1,520

336.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.99

$3.92 ₱246

242.60%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.95

$2.51 ₱157

76.49%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 €3.24

$1.59 ₱99.9

128.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.83

$0.53 ₱33.33

498.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.96

$1.78 ₱112

211.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$2.17 ₱136

154.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.92 ₱120

-31.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.51

$1.36 ₱85.2

106.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.01 ₱63.3

110.89%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.42

$2.03 ₱127

88.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.52

$9.86 ₱619

76.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.59

$4.39 ₱276

170.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.90

$7.60 ₱477

193.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.67

$3.30 ₱207

-9.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.39 ₱87.5

74.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$2.33 ₱146

14.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.88

$1.50 ₱94.0

115.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.21

$2.36 ₱148

4.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.90 ₱119

2.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.19 ₱74.7

29.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$0.63 ₱39.59

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.54

$3.00 ₱189

331.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.80

$6.03 ₱378

44.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.23 ₱77.4

39.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.75 ₱110

18.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.76

$0.25 ₱15.81

1136.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱793

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$0.77 ₱48.47

271.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.23 ₱14.49

921.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €36.05

$4.46 ₱280

805.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.31 ₱82.5

61.83%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.7K €30.9K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

63.18%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.8K €29.3K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

71.38%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 €181

$120 ₱7,547

68.68%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.94 €19.58

$14.00 ₱879

56.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.37

$27.54 ₱1,729

84.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.32

$32.33 ₱2,029

12.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.77

$6.65 ₱417

216.24%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.55

$5.65 ₱355

168.67%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,605 €1,433

$275 ₱17.3K

483.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.1K

$7,918 ₱497.0K

326.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$49.33 ₱3,097

129.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.21

$25.24 ₱1,585

82.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.9

$77.0 ₱4,831

32.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €146

$57.2 ₱3,590

185.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €813

$500 ₱31.4K

82.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €721

$309 ₱19.4K

161.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,236

$1,078 ₱67.7K

28.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €985

$615 ₱38.6K

79.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,714

$2,886 ₱181.2K

44.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,580

$1,917 ₱120.3K

50.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,483

$346 ₱21.7K

704.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

7.2

-51.94%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 61.8% $499

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 42.8% $154

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 74% $251

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 41.3% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 50.8% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 34.5% $23

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 42.2% $11

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Aalst and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 704% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $106 in Aalst vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

13:10 1:10 PM

6 h ahead of Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 62.77 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.25 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aalst Cebu 11,100 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Aalst
Cebu

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aalst vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Cebu differ by about 125% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $918 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 704% higher in Aalst, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $911 in Aalst versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $918 in Cebu – a 125% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Aalst and Cebu are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 125% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.